How do I install the Test First skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add llopresto87/test-first in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Test First safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Test First?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Test First free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Test First?

llopresto87 (@llopresto87) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Test First by llopresto87 — Agent Skill

Name: Test First
Author: llopresto87

Test First

The test-SHAPING technique applied inside the test-first protocol — pick the lowest test level that exercises the behavior (unit, integration, contract, e2e, golden, property-based, evaluation), name the test after the spec contract, and assert one outcome per test. The workflow itself (entry conditions, RED-GREEN-REFACTOR-COMMIT gates, variants, exceptions) is the test-first protocol.

llopresto87 3023429 2.4 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

test-first (the test-shaping technique)

The cycle — RED → GREEN → REFACTOR → COMMIT, its per-phase gates, the characterize-first rule, the bug-fix and refactor variants, the migration safety gate, and the recorded exceptions — lives in docs/graph/protocols/test-first.md, the one home for the workflow. This skill owns the craft of shaping each test the cycle asks for.

Test level selection

Pick the lowest level that exercises the behavior.

Level	Use when
Unit	Pure logic, transformations, parsers, validators.
Integration	Crossing an adapter (DB, file, network, SDK, model).
Contract	API endpoints, structured outputs, message schemas.
End-to-end	Critical flows — one or two per flow, no more.
Golden / snapshot	Deterministic transforms, prompts, renderers.
Property-based	Algorithms where the property is clearer than examples.
Evaluation	LLM/VLM behavior, with rubrics and pass thresholds.

Test shape

The name names the contract. The spec §4 contract slug, transformed for the language's convention (test_submit_valid_form_returns_2xx, submitValidFormReturns2xx, …). The reviewer should be able to read the test names and reconstruct the spec.
The body is Given/When/Then. Set up Given, perform When, assert Then.
One outcome per test (or one assertion group about the same outcome). Many small tests beat one giant one.

Reference files

docs/graph/protocols/test-first.md — the workflow this technique serves.
docs/graph/templates/spec.template.md — where contracts live (§4) and test mapping is recorded (§10).
docs/graph/agents/04-tester.md — the agent that owns the cycle.
docs/graph/agents/02-implementer.md — the agent that writes GREEN.

---name: test-firstdescription: The test-SHAPING technique applied inside the test-first protocol — pick the lowest test level that exercises the behavior (unit, integration, contract, e2e, golden, property-based, evaluation), name the test after the spec contract, and assert one outcome per test. The workflow itself (entry conditions, RED-GREEN-REFACTOR-COMMIT gates, variants, exceptions) is the test-first protocol.---# test-first (the test-shaping technique)The cycle — RED → GREEN → REFACTOR → COMMIT, its per-phase gates, thecharacterize-first rule, the bug-fix and refactor variants, themigration safety gate, and the recorded exceptions — lives in`docs/graph/protocols/test-first.md`, the one home for the workflow. This skillowns the craft of shaping each test the cycle asks for.## Test level selectionPick the lowest level that exercises the behavior.| Level | Use when ||-------------------|---------------------------------------------------------|| Unit | Pure logic, transformations, parsers, validators. || Integration | Crossing an adapter (DB, file, network, SDK, model). || Contract | API endpoints, structured outputs, message schemas. || End-to-end | Critical flows — one or two per flow, no more. || Golden / snapshot | Deterministic transforms, prompts, renderers. || Property-based | Algorithms where the property is clearer than examples. || Evaluation | LLM/VLM behavior, with rubrics and pass thresholds. |## Test shape- **The name names the contract.** The spec §4 contract slug, transformed for the language's convention (`test_submit_valid_form_returns_2xx`, `submitValidFormReturns2xx`, …). The reviewer should be able to read the test names and reconstruct the spec.- **The body is Given/When/Then.** Set up Given, perform When, assert Then.- **One outcome per test** (or one assertion group about the same outcome). Many small tests beat one giant one.## Reference files- `docs/graph/protocols/test-first.md` — the workflow this technique serves.- `docs/graph/templates/spec.template.md` — where contracts live (§4) and test mapping is recorded (§10).- `docs/graph/agents/04-tester.md` — the agent that owns the cycle.- `docs/graph/agents/02-implementer.md` — the agent that writes GREEN.

Frequently asked questions